Eos and Kate
Yesterday, Alice saw an etching of Prince Albert's beloved greyhound Eos. On EBay of course. Hard to say if it is an original or not....
It reminded both of us of Kate, our grehound neighbor who lives a block away. We see her many times a week on walks. Kate is a retired racer. She was the first neighborhood dog I felt comfortable with. She is gentle and soft. She moves very slowly and carefully since she is an elder. She never moves fast around me.
But! I've seen her run in short bursts. Wow! Is she fast without even getting to her half speed. Can outrun all the others around here.
But, she's been having some nerve trouble on a back leg and has to wear a little black boot on walks. So, no running for now.
At today's local public school Sunday 11 AM "services" for neighborhood dogs, Kate and I preferred to lie soaking the sun while all the others chased around and around. Delicious to warm up on green grass with our people safely close by.
Eos was also a female like Kate. But, Eos was black and white, not white with pale spots like Kate. Prince Albert brought Eos in 1840 when he left Saxe Coburg to marry Queen Victoria. Eos was a hunter of deer and an inside companion to Albert. She was his first female companion.
Lucky for Eos, Victoria loved dogs and knew what her husband's special bond with Eos was all about. For her Christmas present to Albert in 1841, she commissioned a portrait of Eos by Landseer for Albert.
And, before Eos died in 1844, Albert and Victoria did drawings and etchings of her. If not for all those pictures, Eos might have been forgotten. But, now I know about her and will think of her whenever I see Kate who is also beloved by her people.
It reminded both of us of Kate, our grehound neighbor who lives a block away. We see her many times a week on walks. Kate is a retired racer. She was the first neighborhood dog I felt comfortable with. She is gentle and soft. She moves very slowly and carefully since she is an elder. She never moves fast around me.
But! I've seen her run in short bursts. Wow! Is she fast without even getting to her half speed. Can outrun all the others around here.But, she's been having some nerve trouble on a back leg and has to wear a little black boot on walks. So, no running for now.
At today's local public school Sunday 11 AM "services" for neighborhood dogs, Kate and I preferred to lie soaking the sun while all the others chased around and around. Delicious to warm up on green grass with our people safely close by.
Eos was also a female like Kate. But, Eos was black and white, not white with pale spots like Kate. Prince Albert brought Eos in 1840 when he left Saxe Coburg to marry Queen Victoria. Eos was a hunter of deer and an inside companion to Albert. She was his first female companion.
Lucky for Eos, Victoria loved dogs and knew what her husband's special bond with Eos was all about. For her Christmas present to Albert in 1841, she commissioned a portrait of Eos by Landseer for Albert.
And, before Eos died in 1844, Albert and Victoria did drawings and etchings of her. If not for all those pictures, Eos might have been forgotten. But, now I know about her and will think of her whenever I see Kate who is also beloved by her people.
posted by Alice at 2:00 PM
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